However the third period proved tough for Malta as the Scots outscored us 23-11 so as to open a 20-point margin which they controlled till the end. According to the reports, Malta’s coach Dipietroantonio made use of all his ten players with guard Omar Said being the most utilised at 36 minutes but Silvio Cassar had only 12 minutes of play after being the only Maltese player fouled out. Said was the best point getter with 21 points followed by Michael Naudi on 19 with the Malta team shooting with a low 25% (14 on 54) compared to the Scots‚ 46% (22 on 47).

Scotland had also height advantage and managed to bring down 51 rebounds in the game opposed to Malta’s 31 with Kieron Nnamdi Achara (Scot with Nigerian backgrounds) pulling down 10 rebounds and having nine points.

Best scorers for the Scots were Keith Bunyan and Daniel Wardrope (born in Traralgon, Australia) with 27 points.

Malta: M. Naudi 19, D. Falzon, E. Bezzina 6, C. Sammut 1, T. Riolo, O. Said 21, A. Micallef 2, D. Schembri 9, A. Huizer, S. Cassar 4.

In the other Group B match Luxembourg registered a large win, 90-59 (32-17, 20-20, 18-18, 20-4), over Wales who had finished second in the 2002 edition losing to San Marino in the final.